History lesson
On Tuesday, BT pulled the plug on the massively popular 1901 census website, after an estimated 7m people tried to access the service at the same time.
The Public Record Office (PRO) originally withdrew the service on Friday, although the site - which made available the whole of the 1901 census - had remained available during night-time hours. Since launching last week the site has simply been swamped with users keen to find out their family history.
BT's action might be an embarrassment for the government, but it also proves that the British public has an overwhelming appetite for history and genealogy. Designed for 1.2m users a day, the 1901 census website has attracted as many in an hour.
The PRO had hoped to have the site operating again early this week but I believe that the site will not be available until Monday at the earliest.
http://www.census.pro.gov.uk
War games
Few doubt that the war in Afghanistan has seen online media mature. But - as ever - part of the problem is that there is now too much information about the war, not too little. Now, a brace of US websites are showing new ways to make sense of the masses of information pouring out of the Pentagon and other official sources.
American artist John Klima uses official data from the US Defence Department's daily press briefings. The Great Game is an online "game" that uses a real-time map of Afghanistan as its board. Game pieces represent real munitions, aircraft targets and troop movements. It is updated every 60 seconds.
Kilma has mapped similar territories before. His 1999 piece, Serbian Skylight, made similar use of US Department of Defence data to represent the estimated ordnance dropped on Serbia by Nato. Since then, he has busied himself representing financial markets in beautiful Java applets.
The Great Game is a little clunky, it won't work on Macs, and doesn't like Netscape 6 at all. And it is not a game in the sense that you play it to win. But if it's an antidote to hastily rewritten press releases and empty political speeches you are after, then look no further.
Meanwhile, Professor Marc W Herold of the University of New Hampshire also uses official Pentagon data in another original way. His site charts a chilling "death watch" detailing the thousands of civilian deaths caused by the US-led bombing. Herold believes that the western media is failing to report the war in Afghanistan accurately. Or at least, that details of the full extent of civilian casualties are being obscured from the public. He puts the number of civilian casualties at nearly 4,000. It makes for grim - if essential - reading.
www.cursor.org/stories/civilian_deaths.htm
www.cityarts.com/lmno
Classic case
An interactive animated version of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No 9, From the New World, has just been released on Carnegie Hall's website. The animated symphony is the first in a series of online "listening adventures" by the venerable music hall. It is aimed at kids, but anyone with even a remote interest in classical music will recognise its charm.
On the other side of the classical spectrum are Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin. For their new work at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the pair monitored the activity in thousands of internet chat rooms and message boards, then converted these public conversations into a computer-generated opera. It is an unashamedly difficult but surprisingly rewarding piece.
www.listeningadventures.org
www.carnegiehall.org
www.bam.org/asp/bam_frameset.asp" TARGET="_NEW">Brooklyn Academy of Music
Sundance
The Sundance Film Festival begins today. Those of us who cannot afford a trip to Utah can enjoy the festival on the web. This year's site includes a number of notable short films. Sundance Film Festival
Walk of life
Ten years ago, Austin-based film director Richard Linklater helped define much of the attitudes of the e-generation with his seminal debut film, Slacker. Even if it did fail to anticipate the coming of internet. Linklater is about to return to the slacking theme with a new animated feature, Walking Life. The film is due for a spring release in the UK, but a sneak preview can be found online. www.wakinglifemovie.com
BBCi
Monday saw the quiet launch of BBC.co.uk, rebranded as BBCi. Europe's most popular destination has been restructured to allow users to move more easily across its 1,000 websites. I particularly liked Gwenan, a virtual newsreader and a welsh Ananova. www.bbc.co.uk
Block booking
Berlin has always had a notable digital arts scene, but a computer interface the size of an office block? No, make that an interface that actually is an office block. Check out the site of the biggest game of Pong the world has seen. www.blinkenlights.de
Life tips
Despite the country teetering on the brink of recession, one part of the online economy that continues to flourish is personal coaching and luxury concierge services. In November, Lastminute.com launched a VIP concierge service for its regular users, while London's Quintessentially continues to do good business even though it costs £400 before they even say hello to you.
Slightly cheaper is the new 3courselunch.com, an online "personal trainer" dispensing advice on everything from how to get a promotion to health tips for a tenner a month.
Last Minute
www.quintessentially.com
www.3courselunch.com
Bunk off
England's World Cup campaign does not start until June, but with matches starting as early as 7.30am, it is time to start thinking about how to watch the games while holding down a job. Sportswear company, Umbro, has stepped in with a site offering the best excuses and even a faux doctor's note. www.umbro.com/bunkoff
New & noted
· Multimap.com has launched a personalised service that allows users to save the maps they use the most. http://Multimap
· Play a film version of Fantasy Football at Fantasy Film League
· Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down trailer is now at Black Hawk Down
· Learn to keep New Year resolutions at http://resolution.freeserve.com
· Sick of the sight of BBC2's internet drama? Then go to www.everyonehates attachments.com
